Hooray: New Drapes!

If you've been following my drapery drama, you'll understand how happy I am to tell you that I FINALLY have new drapes!

Before: Too short, wrong colour!

Yes, I finally bit the bullet and parted ways with my "cost-me-an-arm-and-a-leg-and-never-liked-them-from-the-start custom-made drapes", and replaced them with Restoration Hardware Thai silk off-the-shelf drapes.

My custom-made drapes were made for a different house (with 8-foot ceilings) and consequently, they were way too short.  And did I mention the colour?  That's a whole other story. They were a  drab, brownish stripe that darkened up my new space.  Bottom line: they were all wrong and had to go!


The new Restoration Hardware drapes weren't cheap, but they were significantly cheaper than having new ones made.  I sure wish I was one of those girls who could whip up a pair of drapes for next to nothing, but unfortunately, my sewing machine and I have never been overly-friendly.  It knows my limitations!

You'll note that, at 96 inches, these drapes are the right length for my 9-foot ceilings, unlike my custom made ones which were made for 8-foot ceilings.  Just look how much higher the ceilings feel with the rod hung at the correct height; instead of on the window header where I had the old ones hung.

New drapery: kitchen window

New drapery: living room window

And, I am LOVING the colour.  It's amazing what a lighter-coloured drapery can do for a room.  The muted blue and cream vertical stripes have a very light and airy feel (as compared with the drab brown that was there before) and it really opens up the space.

Restoration Hardware calls this colour Eucalyptus which suggests a greenish tone, but it is actually a very muted blue.

They are almost an exact match for my sea-glass backsplash.

The colour is a great backdrop for my addiction to Robin's Egg Blue.

I think sometimes we delay making good decorating decisions because we feel we'd be 'wasting'  the good money we spent on an item years ago.  (For example, I struggled with the fact that I'd be replacing expensive drapes with less costly ones.) But, in reality, that money is a 'sunk cost'. It's over and done with, so forget about it! Also, when you dislike something like drapes or a couch, you end up spending unnecessary money 'decorating around' the item with new accessories and paint in an attempt to force it to fit in.  Sometimes it's just better to swallow the sunk cost, and replace it!

Until next time,  happy decorating!